ABCs of Ishida
by frozencinders
Summary: 25 Mitsunari-centric ficlets, one for each letter of the alphabet, ranging from a single sentence to several paragraphs. (except X)
1\. Again
The last thought that went through Sakon's head as he gave in to the wounds Mitsunari had inflicted upon him while not in his right state of mind, was simply:

"I hope we meet again."

* * *

2\. Buoyancy  
Motochika leaned forward over his knee, with his foot perched on the edge of the ship. He squinted at the white thing floating in the water off in the distance, ordering his men to turn the ship that way. As they got closer, he realized the floating thing was a person. He was quite pale, possibly already dead, but he somehow didn't seem like it. There was a decent chance of the person being alive considering he was face-up and his eyes were closed, so Motochika decided to bring him on board.

He gently laid the stranger on the deck before pressing his ear to the other man's chest to listen for a heartbeat. It was there, surprisingly, and Motochika told his men to bring some food and water for when he woke up. It took a good while, but the sopping wet stranger's eyes did not flutter as much as they flew open as he awoke, immediately sitting, then standing in a flash. He took up what was probably going to be a fighting stance, reaching for a blade at his waist with both hands, but he gasped when he noticed there wasn't one.

"Must have floated off while you were out," Motochika suggested. The stranger growled as he looked around, apparently content not to pick a fight while he was severely outnumbered and unarmed, as well as completely soaked.

"What's your name, matey?" Motochika asked, giving a smile. The stranger raised his head and seemed to be attempting to look down on him before introducing himself. The pirate looked into the newly introduced Mitsunari's eyes for a good few seconds. Then a few more. He couldn't seem to look away, in fact.

"What is it?" Mitsunari hurriedly brought a hand to his hair, checking to make sure nothing unusual had happened. His head lowered and his eyes averted with the movement, snapping Motochika out of his trance.

"You've got good eyes, huh? I like the look of 'em," Motochika said, realizing almost immediately that a statement like that could be interpreted as flirting. Mitsunari seemed oblivious to the possibility, silently accepting the compliment and beginning to look around as he unknowingly waited for the food the pirate ordered to arrive. Motochika gave a thoughtful hum before walking over to his crewmate at the wheel of the ship and whispering for him to change course so they'd be at sea a while longer than planned. He was looking forward to spending time with his new friend.

* * *

3\. Carmine  
Sakon frowned. Since Mitsunari was out, he decided to take it upon himself to gather up his lord's bedclothes and have them washed before he got back. He'd seen Mitsunari cry before, seen his condition in action. Yet it was still jarring and worrying to see the unusual shade of red staining the lavender pillow case.

* * *

4\. Difficult  
Anyone could guess that Mitsunari would be difficult to romance. Going the obvious route for a kiss always got Sakon a relatively gentle shove and an eyeful of his lord's back as he walked away. Sakon instead decided to see if he could surprise his lord with an unexpected kiss, one that would be too quick to dodge.

Sakon tried his best not to smile too brightly as he saw his lord approaching. Mitsunari kept his eyes forward and unwavering, never allowing himself to get distracted by anything. If he suspected someone was around, he rarely bothered to make his suspicions obvious. It was hard to tell, then, if he knew Sakon was hiding nearby.

As Mitsunari was about to walk past him, Sakon jumped down from his incredibly hard to maintain position on the ceiling and quickly leaned in for a kiss, only for his lips to be met by a hand. Sakon's shoulders dropped in disappointment, giving a half-hearted kiss to his lord's palm anyway. They maintained eye contact for a while before Mitsunari removed his hand and quietly walked by, sparing him a glare as he did so. Sakon sighed, already trying to think of his next trick.

* * *

5\. Edible  
"Is he... is... is he eating grass?" Sakon whispered in confusion, almost wondering if he shouldn't be seeing his lord like that. Mitsunari heard him and, surprisingly enough, gave an amused smile. He beckoned Sakon over, who sighed in relief when he got close enough to see the Easter basket that had been gifted to his lord, which happened to contain edible grass.

* * *

6\. Fox  
Sakon couldn't believe it. His lord had been called a fox, but could the nickname be literal?

"Lord Mitsunari?" he whispered, hesitant to call out to him. The fox's ears perked up, looking around for the source of the voice. So his lord retreated into the forest and turned into a fox? Was that even possible? How often did this happen? Which was his true, original form?

Sakon backed up, figuring for some reason that he probably shouldn't approach the fox version of his lord, only to yelp when he backed into someone.

"Did you call me?" Mitsunari asked, unfazed by having his subordinate so close to him. Sakon looked over his shoulder at his lord, then back at the area the fox had been. It was now gone, however, and Sakon forced himself to think that it ran away at the sudden noise. It would be impossible for Mitsunari to practically be in two places at once, right? ... It was impossible to turn into a fox in the first place! Wasn't it?

* * *

7\. Guess  
"Alright, so!" Sakon flashed his dice before shuffling them in his hand, gently tossing them around. "Even or odd?"

"Stop fooling around," Mitsunari ordered, making a grab for the dice. Sakon yanked his hand away, continuing to juggle them once he'd taken a few steps back.

"Come on, guess!"

"This is a waste of time. No matter what the outcome is, my guess does not affect it, nor does the outcome affect me."

"Oh, come on, lord Mitsunari! Just guess, even or odd?"

'If he grabs his sword, then I'll call...'

Mitsunari's hand went to his blade.

"Even!" Sakon declared, throwing the dice. The result, eight, was indeed even. Apparently satisfied by the new longer distance of the dice from him, Mitsunari removed his hand from his sword.

"Stop trying to include me in these games of yours," Mitsunari said, nice enough not to kick Sakon's dice as he passed them by.

* * *

8\. Heat  
If Sakon was being honest, he would say he thought Yoshitsugu didn't like him much. There were often times where he'd approach the bandaged enigma only for him to float away without responding to Sakon. They could get along over strategies occasionally, but Yoshitsugu never seemed eager to interact with Sakon. The only thing they really had in common, Sakon thought, was that they both loyally worked for Mitsunari.

Another thing they were able to agree on, however, was that hot weather really wasn't so bad when it forced Mitsunari to dress down a bit in his casual wear.

* * *

9\. Imaginary  
Yoshitsugu didn't say a word when Mitsunari stared at Hideyoshi's gauntlet and spoke to it as if it were still equipped to the man's arm.

* * *

10\. Joke  
"Sakon! Must you always shirk your work? I so rarely ever tell you to do paperwork and the one time I do, it's nowhere to be found," Mitsunari scolded. Sakon gave a heavy, overdramatic sigh.

"Well, I guess you'll _just_ have to kill me." Silence ensued as Mitsunari reached for his sword.

"Very well, then," he answered, preparing to lunge at his subordinate, who frantically stepped back and held his arms defensively in front of him.

"Wait, wait! I was joking! It was a joke!"

Needless to say, he finished that paperwork before the end of the day.

* * *

11\. Kiss  
Sometimes, Sakon was a bit jealous with how much more carefully and gently Mitsunari would kiss Yoshitsugu than how he kissed Sakon himself.

* * *

12\. Lick  
When Mitsunari was on top, he tended to be especially difficult to control in bed. Sakon once tried to see if licking at his neck (and slowly up to the shell of his ear...) would get him under control, but he unknowingly sent his lord into even more of a frenzy.

* * *

13\. Mistletoe  
"I, for one, am all for the idea. It's nice to dabble in other cultures!"

Mitsunari ignored Sakon, staring a hole into the Takeda ninja who had approached them. The fool still didn't lower his hand.

"Come on, you guys have to kiss. That's the rule!"

Mitsunari stayed silent, deciding to go as long as possible without blinking. Sasuke fortunately seemed at least slightly intimidated by it.

"It's not my fault. This Mistletoe just kind of found its way into my hand, and now it's above your heads! Just kiss and get it over with, yeah?" Sasuke suggested, giving a smile and a wink. His behavior reminded Mitsunari of his subordinate right next to him.

"Well, he seems like the stubborn type," Sakon lied, "why don't we just get it over with like he said? Can't be helped and all."

"Absolutely can't be helped!" Sasuke laughed. In a flash, the slight weight in the ninja's hand had dropped and his eyes that had closed momentarily in laughter snapped open as he jumped back. Mitsunari sheathed his sword but kept his fingers hovering over the handle, all before the plant even hit the ground.

"Alright, alright. Hint taken! You win, I give up, won't do it again and all that. See ya!" Sasuke quickly left, most likely hoping to get a headstart on Mitsunari in case the commander decided to give chase. He stood still, thankfully, eventually moving his hand back to his side. Sakon sidestepped in front of him, his head quickly dodging below eye level as he picked up what remained of the Mistletoe that lied on the ground.

"... No?" Sakon asked, moving his arms into somewhat of a shrug. His sky facing palms fell and swung at his sides when Mitsunari moved past him, still silent. He heard his subordinate sigh as he walked alongside him, the bounce in his step not deterred by the rejection.

*1: See end note.

* * *

14\. Night  
Funnily enough, the same people who snickered at Mitsunari's appearance during the day were completely entranced by the effect the moonlight had on him.

* * *

15\. Obey  
As eager as Sakon normally was to obey his lord's commands, he simply chose not to hear the orders to stop teasing him as he continued to slowly kiss at his lord's thighs.

* * *

16\. Personality  
There was personality in everything Sakon did. You could show Mitsunari a sillhouette of Sakon and he would immediately be able to recognize whatever ridiculous pose the man was in. Even his footsteps just _sounded_ like him. He was incredibly easy to recognize, yet a little difficult to understand. Mitsunari found it unexpectedly pleasant. He felt no need to admit these things out loud.

* * *

17\. Quack  
"That's the duck noise!" Sakon exclaimed, looking around for the source. "If only we brought some bread!"

'The duck noise?' Mitsunari thought, brow furrowing when he supposed it made sense. Sometimes, the things Sakon said confused him no matter how reasonable they seemed.

* * *

18\. Rage  
Mitsunari was beautiful. He was fast. He was graceful. He was honest. He could be described as many, many things. More than anything, however, he was the very embodiment of rage. Sakon looked on with a furrowed brow as his lord had one of his fits. He just wished he could find a way to quell that rage...

* * *

19\. Surprise  
At first, Sakon had tried to hide his feelings for his superior. He thought he could get in trouble, possibly even kicked out of the army or assigned to someone else, if anyone found out. Of course, Yoshitsugu figured it out rather quickly, but he'd been unexpectedly quiet about it. Probably just waiting for the right moment to tell someone.

After a while, however, Sakon didn't fear that possibility. He held back less around his lord and eventually, he started flirting just a bit. Mitsunari was taken aback at first, but had quickly gotten used to it. In hindsight, that might have been a bad thing. How can Sakon confess to Mitsunari if his lord thinks that's just the way he is? How would that go?

 _"I love you, lord Mitsunari!"_

 _"Stop fooling around and get back to work."_

Probably something like that...

Sakon didn't let that deter him, simply deciding to make his love more and more obvious until Mitsunari confronted him about it. He never outright told his lord how he felt, but he hinted at it and even asked him for a kiss once. Mitsunari hadn't responded horribly to the request, so Sakon decided to see if he could try to kiss his lord. He made it out to be enough of a game that Mitsunari didn't seem to think too hard on it. It even became routine.

There came a day, however, when Sakon didn't feel up to chasing Mitsunari around. Mitsunari had stopped and tensed slightly when Sakon approached him in the hallway, expecting a trick, but Sakon just kept walking by, only sparing his lord a tired wave. It took him a while to look over his shoulder and realize Mitsunari was tentatively following him, head tilted.

"Need something, lord Mitsunari?" Sakon asked, correcting his posture once he noticed he'd been slouching a bit. Mitsunari stared at him, assuming his question could be understood without needing to be said. Sakon then, probably just as fairly, assumed his answer didn't need to be heard either.

"See you around, then," he said, turning again to leave. He couldn't wait to take a nap and wake up feeling as energetic as he usually was. He allowed his pace to slow as he yawned, which was interrupted by a gasp when he heard Mitsunari's unmistakably fast footsteps approaching him.

Sakon quickly turned around, thinking he was in trouble, only to be met by his lord's lips on his own before he could apologize. Immediately, Sakon was full of energy once more, practically screaming into his lord's mouth as he hopped up and wrapped his limbs around Mitsunari. His lord broke the kiss almost instantly, shock written on his face from the sudden change. Finding the opportunity too perfect to waste, Sakon gave Mitsunari another kiss. He didn't let go even when Mitsunari started yelling at him.

* * *

20\. Tanuki  
Ieyasu winced as Tadakatsu set him down as gently as the giant warrior could. Mitsunari had caught him off guard and done quite a bit of damage before Tadakatsu was able to intervene, but Ieyasu recognized it was his own fault for approaching Mitsunari. Sakon had caught him along the road and let him know that he'd convinced Mitsunari to drink that night and that if he could get Mitsunari to form an alliance while drunk, he'd probably be unable to let himself break it once sober. Ieyasu ecstatically took the opportunity, but as it turned out, Mitsunari's skills with a sword were not dulled in the slightest by the alcohol, and he actually became even less predictable than usual.

Ieyasu sighed, accepting the help of the soldiers who had approached him upon his landing. He only hoped he could sneak close enough to Osaka castle at some point so he could inform Sakon that he didn't blame him for trying, even if there was a good chance the gambler had been lying about the possibility of a truce.

* * *

21\. Underrated  
'Holy shit.'

Sakon had once jokingly asked Yoshitsugu how good Mitsunari was at giving blowjobs, to which he'd responded "like you wouldn't believe," but this was... _absurdly_ amazing. Perhaps it was the sheer fact that it was Mitsunari performing the task, but all Sakon could do was stare wide-eyed in awe. Mitsunari looked up eventually, brows furrowing at the look on Sakon's face.

"What?" he asked simply, breath hot against Sakon's tip. He finally gave a moan at the sensation, as delayed as it seemed, before quickly coming to his senses and shaking his head. He urged Mitsunari to go on, who seemingly glared for a brief moment before continuing.

"Like you wouldn't believe" was certainly an understatement, if it was really meant to be an evaluation of his lord's skill.

* * *

22\. Vamping  
*2: See end note.

"Oh- no no no, you can't go in there yet!" Sakon protested, jumping in front of Mitsunari and blocking the door to his room.

"What?" Mitsunari looked around for a brief moment to make sure he knew where he was. "This is my room. Let me in."

"In a minute, I just, uh... really wanted to ask you something. For a while now. I figured I should stop putting it off and just ask it now."

"What is it?"

"Uh..." Sakon began to sweat a bit as he tried to think of something to ask. "I just thought it would be best... to... ask now, instead of putting it off further..."

"You already said that. What do you want to ask?"

Sakon continued to waffle about and Mitsunari narrowed his eyes at him.

"I... I wanted... uh, alright! I..."

"Alright, he can come in now," Yoshitsugu spoke from inside, opening the door and earning a huge sigh of relief from Sakon.

"Well, seems I forgot what I wanted to ask," Sakon lied, gesturing for Mitsunari to enter the room. He did so with confusion and caution, despite the fact that it was his two most trusted retainers he was dealing with.

"Why is it so dark in here?" Mitsunari asked, carefully walking forward with an arm bent in front of him in case anything was placed in his way. Sakon could hear his feet slowly sliding across the floor so he wouldn't step on anything.

Just as the two could hear Mitsunari fumbling with the curtain at his window, Yoshitsugu snapped his fingers and lit the room up. Neatly stacked in the corner of the room were a few boxes of presents, which Yoshitsugu had only just finished wrapping. Mitsunari wordlessly stared at them before flinging his gaze over to his friends in the doorway, both of whom smiled at him.

"Happy birthday, (lord) Mitsunari," they said in unison, in deeply contrasting tones.

* * *

23\. Wildcard  
Try as he might, Mitsunari could never quite predict what Sakon would do, or what was going through his head. He made an attempt earlier, predicting that Sakon had a surprise for him because he'd been very dodgy and secretive all day. He got that much right, but the sight presented before him was completely unexpected and uncalled for. Mitsunari quickly turned on his heel and left the room.

"What, don't like whipped cream?" Sakon yelled after him, sitting up with a smile. "Well, who's gonna clean me up now? I can't get dressed like this!"

* * *

24\. X  
what do you want from me i used xylophone last time i did this and that's like the only x word

* * *

25\. Yu-Gi-Oh!  
*3: See end note. Feel free to skip this bit if you aren't interested in children's card games. I get a little into it. I'm serious. It's an absolute chore to read if you aren't interested in YGO. Just ctrl + f "26." to skip to Z.

Mitsunari brought the side of his hand up to his mouth as he thought. He examined the field, lips pursed together, and tried to think of a way out of his current situation.

He knew practically for a fact that Oichi had a way of destroying his Field Spell, whether it be by Mystical Space Typhoon or by discarding Shaddoll Dragon. She couldn't currently use whatever method she had, however, as Malefic Stardust Dragon protected his Field Spell. Oichi had played the Continuous Spell, Ectoplasmer, which forces both players to sacrifice one of their face-up monsters at their End Phases. Mitsunari had been protecting Malefic Stardust Dragon by sacrificing the few non-Malefic monsters he drew, but he failed to draw one this turn. He could most likely survive a turn without his dragon there to protect him, but he wouldn't be able to summon any other Malefic monsters as long as he had no Field Spell.

Oichi had been protecting herself and dealing small amounts of damage each turn using a combination of Scrap-Iron Scarecrow, Shaddoll Falco, and that dreaded Ectoplasmer. Each turn, she allowed Ectoplasmer to take Shaddoll Falco, inflicting a measly 300 damage but reviving it as soon as it hit the Graveyard. She also had El Shaddoll Wendigo for extra protection, which Malefic Stardust wouldn't be able to destroy even if it did have the extra 400 attack points it'd need to stand up to Wendigo's defense.

Mitsunari glanced at his hand, containing a Cyber Dragon which he couldn't summon, Polymerization, Double Summon, and Dark Hole. If he used Dark Hole, it would destroy Malefic Stardust without even inflicting damage to Oichi, and her Shaddoll Falco would revive itself. Wendigo would be taken care of, but its effect would allow her to add a Shaddoll Spell from her graveyard to her hand, which would probably result in either another Wendigo or an even more troublesome Fusion.

Once Malefic Stardust was out of the way, he'd be able to Special Summon Cyber Dragon, but its 2100 attack, as well as the fact that it would be Special Summoned and not Normal Summoned, didn't do him much good. Realizing he'd taken too much time during his turn, he ended it, reluctantly sacrificing Malefic Stardust Dragon and dealing 1250 damage to Oichi. She quietly wrote down her current life points, which were then reduced to 2100. A rather low number if Mitsunari could take advantage of it.

His own 2600 life points weren't looking great, however, and with his field empty like that, he was taking at least 900 damage that turn. As expected, Oichi immediately used Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Malefic World as soon as her turn started, leaving Mitsunari with absolutely nothing but what he had in his hand. She set a face-down monster and flipped Falco up into attack mode, without activating its flip effect. She attacked and let Ectoplasmer do its job, bringing Mitsunari's life points down to 1700.

Mitsunari drew, getting a Cyber Dragon Core. He contemplated his options, knowing that it was a bad idea to send Shaddolls to the grave with card effects rather than by battle. Regardless, he sighed and decided to finally use the Dark Hole he'd been holding since turn 1. Wendigo, Falco, and the face-down Shaddoll Squamata (as he feared, which would have destroyed Cyber Dragon with its effect and depleted his life points to 0 with its 1800 attack) all went to the graveyard, with Oichi activating their effects. Falco revived itself in face-down defense mode as usual and Shaddoll Fusion was added back to her hand, but she took a while to look through her deck and see what monster would be the most advantagous to send to the grave with Squamata's effect.

Mitsunari had no monsters to flip with Hound, no Spells or Traps to destroy with Dragon, Falco had already revived itself and couldn't do so twice in one turn... she decided to send Shaddoll Beast, using its simple effect to draw one card. Mitsunari sighed, less relieved than he could have been if he'd just drawn Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Ectoplasmer. He figured he only had one option and summoned Cyber Dragon Core, activating its effect to let him look through his deck for a Cyber support card. He'd been planning to grab Cyber Network, as was the usual plan when summoning the Core, but he then noticed he still had Cybernetic Fusion Support in his deck and added it to his hand instead. One of his other copies of Cyber Dragon was in his graveyard, one in his hand, and the Core's name counts as Cyber Dragon while in the graveyard. Finally, he had a winning plan.

As Cyber Dragon was level 5 and took a tribute to Normal Summon, he activated Double Summon and set it face-down on top of the vulnerable Core, sending it to the graveyard where it couldn't be a liability. Since Cyber Dragon was face-down, Ectoplasmer wouldn't force him to sacrifice it. With it remaining on his field, especially in defense mode, he was relatively safe from harm. He wished he could just win this turn, but Scrap-Iron Scarecrow was in his way. Even if he summoned his deadly 4000 attack monster, Ectoplasmer would force him to sacrifice it, dealing 2000 damage and leaving him open and Oichi with 100 life points.

Reluctantly, Mitsunari ended his turn, hoping his deck would give him something he could win with next turn. He glanced at her graveyard as he waited for her to take her turn, suddenly realizing that Oichi could have won during her pevious turn. Mitsunari's field was empty and she decided to set Squamata instead of Normal Summoning and attacking with it? Not to mention, her hand was full enough to the point where if she didn't play a card, she'd have to discard one just to make room for her next draw. There was no way her hand wasn't playable. She was toying with him. Mitsunari didn't mean to break his poker face, but annoyance crossed his features regardless.

After having realized Mitsunari was using a Malefic/Cyber mix, which was clear from the getgo, Oichi must have known Mitsunari's set only had 1600 defense, as Cyber Dragon was the only Cyber or Malefic card that required a tribute to summon. Shaddoll Squamata, Dragon, Beast, any Shaddoll Fusion besides Wendigo, and that Wind Normal Monster Oichi used to summon Wendigo all had enough attack points to destroy Cyber Dragon. He was willing to bet Oichi had other elemental monsters for Fusions that were just as powerful as the Phantom Gryphon she used for Wind.

Oichi furrowed her brow just slightly, setting two face-down Spell/Trap cards and flipping Falco up. She seemed to contemplate for a moment what she wanted to do, as Falco's flip effect would allow her to summon a different Shaddoll monster from her graveyard, but it would be in face-down defense position starting off and she wouldn't be able to change that until next turn, not to mention the fact that Falco wouldn't be able to revive itself if she did that. Deciding to keep her recyclable Falco shield, she didn't activate its flip effect, allowing it to be taken by Ectoplasmer, deal 300 damage, and revive again.

Mitsunari's 1400 life points worried him slightly, but he took a deep breath to calm himself and drew his next card. To his delight, he drew Cyber Dragon Zwei. He summoned Zwei and flipped his set Cyber Dragon face-up before activating Zwei's effect to have its name count as Cyber Dragon by revealing a Spell Card in his hand. He briefly showed Oichi the Cybernetic Fusion Support he'd added to his hand the previous turn, and activated it. He then used Polymerization to banish Zwei from his field and then Cyber Dragon and the Core from his graveyard to summon Cyber End Dragon. He had to pay half his life points to do so, resulting in him having a mere 700 left, but at least he was finally doing something.

Mitsunari attacked first with Cyber Dragon, hoping Oichi would impulsively use Scrap-Iron Scarecrow and prevent Falco's destruction. She didn't, however, and allowed Cyber Dragon to harmlessly destroy Falco. Upon doing so, Falco was flipped face-up and Oichi activated its effect, reviving Wendigo (albeit face-down). Mitsunari attempted to attack with Cyber End, which would end the duel after Ectoplasmer because of its effect of piercing damage, but Oichi used her Scrap-Iron Scarecrow this time, negating the attack. Mitsunari looked down at his empty hand before closing his eyes. Bringing his hand up to his mouth again, he ended his turn and sent Cyber Dragon to the graveyard, inflicting 1050 damage and reducing Oichi's life points to 1050 as well.

Once it was Oichi's turn to draw, her brow furrowed more noticably. She then activated one of her set cards, which turned out to be the harmless Spell, Magical Mallet. She examined her hand briefly before shuffling three cards into her deck and drawing three more. It was barely audible, but she outright growled at the apparent bad hand. She set a Spell/Trap card and ended her turn, frowning the whole time.

Mitsunari drew, however unnecessary it might have been, and didn't bother trying to attack, knowing it would just be negated by Scrap-Iron Scarecrow. He ended his turn and dealt 2000 damage by sacrificing Cyber End Dragon to Ectoplasmer, winning the duel. He placed his hand, containing one card, face-up to show that he drew Malefic Truth Dragon. Malefic Truth was always a card he was happy to see, regardless of if it could be summoned or not.

Oichi raised her hand and let her cards fall, gently flipping the ones that landed face-down over. She'd been holding Shaddoll Fusion, another copy of Ectoplasmer, Neph-Shaddoll Fusion, and Draining Shield, which she didn't bother to set. She then revealed her sets, flipping over the Wendigo and Scrap-Iron Scarecrow Mitsunari already knew about as well as Desert Sunlight, a powerful card in a deck based around flip effects, and Shaddoll Core.

"I would have won if I survived another turn or drew a monster. Or drew El Shaddoll Fusion," she informed, looking away. Mitsunari tilted his head slightly.

"You would have won long before then if you just summoned Squamata instead of setting it."

Oichi seemed somewhat surprised, her gaze raising up and then back down as she remembered what happened. She didn't reply, most likely disappointed in herself for making such a mistake. Mitsunari didn't blame her, however. It was only natural to get used to setting all your monsters in a deck where they all have flip effects. It did feel like less of a victory, however, whenever Mitsunari only won due to an opponent's mistake.

* * *

26\. Zzz  
Yoshitsugu was slightly surprised- though he acknowledged he shouldn't be- to find Sakon sleeping right next to Mitsunari.

'The poor boy doesn't realize what he's getting into,' Yoshitsugu thought, less jealous than he was amused.

Before he was so ill, Yoshitsugu was in the same position. He'd collected more than one scar from Mitsunari waking up in a fit, and that was _before_ the Ieyasu situation. Yoshitsugu silently left the room to reminisce on Mitsunari's awkward way of apologizing when he'd realized he had attacked his friend in his sleep, wondering if he'd get to see that again but directed at Sakon.

* * *

Let it be known that I much prefer AO3's author's notes, but I'll put them here too.

 **Notes:**

*1: Callback to my old "Mistletoe" fic, where Sasuke goes around trying to matchmake with a Mistletoe. It ends with him deciding to head towards Mitsunari and Sakon.

*2: Vamping as in to stall for time.

*3: Surprisingly or not, I'm an avid YGO fan. Both decks used were decks of my own, with Oichi's being an Ectoplasmer + Shaddoll deck and Mitsunari's being a Cyber + Malefic deck. The former was made just to see how strong it would be, while I actually made the latter specifically for Mitsunari.

*4: Excuse me for leaving in my WIP placeholder for X, I just thought it'd be a little weird to just skip it completely.

*5: I fully plan on writing a version of this prompt list for the Samurai Warriors iteration of Mitsunari as well, since I actually already have a few of these same prompts filled out for him. If things don't work out, I might publish a ficlet just using those few prompts.


End file.
